Display kit for colored carpet samples and the like



May 10, 1955 w. GREENVJR 2,707,839

DISPLAY KIT FOR COLORED CARPET SAMPLES AND THE4 LIKE Filed May l, 1952"iii States DISPLAY KIT FOR CQLGRED CARPET SAMPLES AND THE LIKE WhartonGreen, Jr., Auburn, N. Y., assigner to'Nye- Wait Company, Inc., Auburn,N. Y., a corporation of New York Application May 1, 1952, Serial No.285,514

4 Claims. (Cl. Z55- 55) been the practice for a potential customer tosend a sample of upholstery material, drapery material or the like whichhe desires to have matched by a custom-colored carpet or rug. Themanufacturer would then match the sample material with a piece of yarnwhich would be sent to the customer for comparison. rhis is atime-taking and unsatisfactory procedure, however, since often it becamenecessary to send several different pieces of yarn to the customerbefore he was satisfied. Such a procedure is further disadvantageous forthe reason that it is extremely diicult to visualize the colorappearance of an entire carpet or rug by the examination of a meresection of yarn from which the carpet or rug is to be made.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide improved meansfor enabling rapid and accurate selection of a carpet or rug colorand/or quality, style or weave which will be in harmony with the otherdecoration scheme or motif of a room.

Another object is to provide novel means for displaying colored samplesor swatches of carpet, whereby individual swatches may be held adjacentto some surface with which it is desired to be compared, such asdraperies, upholstery, painted surfaces and the like.

A further object is to provide a novel kit for displaying coloredsamples or swatches of carpet, which may be readily and easilytransported to the home of a customer, and which also provides anattractive display for the use of interior decorators or carpetsaleshouses to be used in display windows, on display counters andotherwise.

A still further object is to provide a novel kit for disu playingcolored samples or swatches of carpets and the like, which is capable ofdisplaying a large number of swatches of various colors and/ or quality,style or weave, with the colors in spectrum sequence for enabling thedifferent colors to be readily located.

The foregoing general objects of this invention are attained by a novelconstruction which includes a carrying case having one or more panelsremovably mounted therein, each panel having means for supporting aplurality of swatches, and each swatch having means associated therewithfor identifying the color and/or quality, style or weave thereof, theidentifying means being suitably coded with the dyes of the carpetmanufacturer, thus assuring that a nished carpet will correspond exactlywith the color of any selected swatch.

Still another object is to provide means for removably mounting eachswatch in individual transparent supports which are in turn removablycarried by a panel, whereby swatches may be readily interchanged intheir individual supports for changing the selections of colorsavailable, and the individual supports may be readily interchanged onthe panel for accommodating additions arent G 'ice to and deletions fromthe various color shades and tones, while allowing the spectrum sequenceof the swatches to be maintained.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent as the descriptionprogresses, and the novel features of the invention will be delined inthe appended claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a view in perspective showing a rug or carpet sample displaykit made in accordance with this invention, the carrying case being openas when it is on display to reveal the removable panels of colorswatches;

Fig. 2 is an exploded View of a fragmentary portion of one of theremovable display panels, together with the component parts of onecomplete color swatch display; and

Fig. 3 is a sectional View of the elements of Fig. 2, with the componentparts of the color swatch display in fully assembled condition on thedisplay panel.

Like reference characters in the several figures of the drawingsdesignate corresponding parts, wherein 1 generally denotes a carryingcase having a base portion 2 and a cover 3. These case portions aresuitably hinged at one of their contiguous sides, as at 4, and areprovided with any suitable latch means 5 on the opposite sides thereoffrom the hinge means. The case is also preferably provided with anappropriate handle 6 for carrying the case.

lnteriorly, both the base 2 and the cover 3 of the case are providedwith opposed marginal ledges or blocks 7 projecting inwardly thereof.These blocks 7 serve to locate and support a display panel 8 in each orthe case sections, and a spring-pressed ball keeper 9, or other suitablemeans, carried by one or more of the blocks 7, ,removably locks thepanels in place, with the marginal edge of the panel 8 opposite thekeeper 9 seated in a groove 7 in the block 7, as shown on the hingedside of said cover 3.

The panels are identical, and therefore, the following description ofone panel will suflice for both.

Referring particularly to Figs. land 2, the panel 8 comprises arectangular, flat base 1t?, preferably made of a transparent plasticmaterial, such as Lucite or the like. Arranged in a suitable order onthe base 10 is a plurality of transparent plastic cup-like receptacles11 A,- which are secured to the base by a suitable adhesive or fusion,as may be desired. In the illustrative embodiment, the receptacles 11are substantially square, and the marginal walls 13 thereof preferablyproject outwardly` from the base at a slight angle so that thereceptacles taper inwardly towards the bottoms thereof. In practice, thereceptacles 11 need not have a bottom 12 as shown in the drawings, butmay comprise merely the walls 13, which would be secured to the base 10,as is apparent.

Removably mounted in each of the receptacles 11 is an individual supportor container 14 which is also preferably made of a suitable transparentmaterial. The individual containers 14 each include a bottom 15 andoutwardly projecting marginal walls 16, with the walls 16 formed at anangle relative to the bottom 15 so as to provide a snug friction fitwithin the receptacles 11, as shown in Fig. 3. The outer edge or lip ofeach container 14 projects laterally outward so as to provide a marginalflange that will overlie the outer edge of its respective receptacle 11and provide a handling portion 17 which may be readily gripped by thefingers to remove the coutainer from its receptacle for purposes ofhandling, interchanging containers or otherwise rearranging the same.

Removably secured in each container 14 is a swatch of carpet 18, theseswatches representing the color and/or quality or style of a completecarpet or rug, and being dyed so as to present a wide range of colors,shades and tones. Assuming that each panel has, for example, six rows ofnine receptacles, it is clear that each panel would display fifty-fourcolors, and the case with its two panels would display one hundred eightindividual swatches, each distinct from the other as regards color.However, the colors of the swatches on each panel could be the same andthe quality or style of the swatches on the respective panels diterent,or any other desired arrangement may be utilized.

The individual swatches are removably secured in the containerspreferably by means of an adhesive coated sheet or strip 19 oftransparent material, such as the wellknown Scotch tape, but which hasboth of its sides coated with adhesive material. The adhesive member 19sticks to the base of the swatch and to the bottom of the container 14,and thus removably secures the swatch therein.

Identification means 20, such as a label having indicia 21 on the lowerface thereof, is positioned face down in each container for identifyingthe characteristics of the respective swatches as regards its colorand/or quality or style. The indicia 21 on these identification labelsis coded with the manufacturers dyes in such a manner that it is onlynecessary to know the number or other identication of a swatch, and acustomer can order a carpet or rug which will match the swatch exactly,thus substantially simplifying the process of ordering custom dyedcarpets and the like.

In the illustrations, the identification labels 20 are shown as beinginterposed between the adhesive strips or sheets 19 and the base of thecontainer, but these labels may be located otherwise, so long as theymay be readily observed when the containers are removed from theirrespective receptacles, or when the panel as a whole is turned over.

In use, when it is desired to ascertain what particular color, shade ortone of carpet or rug would be most suitable in a particularenvironment, a selected container 14, with its swatch 18, is removedfrom its receptacle 11 and placed adjacent to the drapes or otherarticles which are to be matched or properly contrasted, or adjacent tosome upholstery, as the case may be. If the colors of the swatch and thearticle being matched or contrasted are satisfactory, the code indicia21 is noted, and a oor covering is ordered and made up in the color ofthe selected swatch, as represented by its code indicia. If a proper ordesired match or contrast is not attained, the container and swatch areplaced back in their receptacle and another selected for comparison.

While the kit has been shown as being rectangular in general form, thepanels 8 and the case 1 may obviously be made in any other desired orconvenient form. Furthermore, the receptacles 11 and containers 14 mayhave any configuration other than square as shown, so long as thecontainer tits snugly into the receptacle and is retained therein byfriction, and other changes may also be resorted to without departingfrom the spirit of this invention as delined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A carpet sample display kit of the class described for displayingsample swatches of carpet, comprising a carrying case, a display panel,means in said case for removably holding said panel, a plurality ofswatches having different characteristics, an individual transparentcontainer for each of said swatches, identication means associated witheach of said swatches and visible through its respective container, saididentification means having indicia representing the characteristics ofits respective sample, means for removably securing said swatches intheir respective containers, and means on said panel. for displaceablysupporting said containers.

2. A panel for displaying sample swatches of carpet and the like,comprising a base, a plurality of receptacles mounted on said base, anindividual transparent container removably held in each of saidreceptacles by friction between their respective side walls, a swatchhaving predetermined characteristics in each of said containers, meansfor removably securing said swatch in its container, a label locatedbetween each swatch and the bottom of its container, said labels havingindicia thereon denoting the characteristics of the swatches in therespective containers.

3. A carpet sample display device as defined in claim 2, wherein themeans for removably securing said swatch in the container comprises asheet of material having an adhesive coating on its opposite sides, oneof said adhesive coated sides being engaged with the bottom of saidcontainer and the opposite side thereof being engaged with said swatch.

4. A sample display device of the class described, comprising a basehaving a plurality of receptacles mounted thereon, a plurality ofindividual containers removably mounted in said receptacles, grip meanson each of said containers for enabling said containers to beindividually lifted from said receptacles, a sample in each of saidcontainers having predetermined characteristics, means for removablysecuring said samples in the respective containers, and means associatedwith each of said containers and samples for identifying thecharacteristics of said samples, said containers each having atransparent bottom, and the means for removably securing said samples inthe respective containers comprising a transparent sheet of materialhaving an adhesive coating on opposite sides thereof, said sheet beinginterposed between one of said samples and the bottom of its container,with the adhesive sides of said sheet engaged with said sample and thebottom of said container, said identifying means comprising a labelsecured to the bottom of said sample by Said transparent adhesive sheetand being visible through the bottom of the container when it is removedfrom its respective receptacle.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS680,658 Hastings Aug. 13, l90l 924,865 Wilson June 15, 1909 1,816,598Martin Iuly 28, 1931 1,878,813 Block et al. Sept. 20, 1932 1,944,050Wolkenhauer Ian. 16, 1934 1,950,203 Wilson Mar. 6, 1934 2,239,145 DonerApr. 22, 1941 2,389,312 Honza Nov. 20, 1945 2,489,779 Horton Nov. 29,1949 2,552,664 Burdine May 15, 1951 2,568,625 Harvey Sept. 18, 1951FOREIGN PATENTS 752,862 France Oct. 2, 1933

